Tenth Avenue North - The Light Meets the Dark

Producer: Jason Ingram & Rusty Varenkamp, Phillip LaRue
Record Label: Reunion Records/Provident Label Group
Website:  http://www.myspace.com/jaymesreunion

I don’t think there was a single person in the industry that was calling Tenth Avenue North the next big breakout band when they released their debut - Over & Underneath in 2008. It’s not that the band wasn’t good - it’s just that they didn’t really stand out from the pack too much. However, the band went on to score three mega-hits on that debut with “Love Is Here,” “By Your Side,” and “Hold My Heart,” won New Artist of the Year (2009) and Song of the Year (this year for “By Your Side”) in the Dove Awards and sold over 300,000 units of their debut (10 years ago that would have been a platinum record).  So needless to say, there’s a lot of buzz building for Tenth Avenue North’s sophomore outing - The Light Meets the Dark.  The band has again teamed up with a winning combination of producers - Jason Ingram & Rusty Varenkamp (2010’s Producer of the Year team) with Phillip LaRue. The Light Meets the Dark, musically, picks up where Over & Underneath left off.  There’s a lot of real, epic sounding pop numbers that the band pulls off exceptionally well. Think MercyMe meets Switchfoot and you’ll have a pretty good grasp of where the band is musically. The album kicks off with the infectious and slow building “Healing Begins” before going into the straight up pop/rock of “Strong Enough to Save.”  There aren’t a whole lot of real upbeat, pop moments - because the band’s forte are those big, radio-friendly anthems. “The Truth Is Who You Are” is a nice soft-rock tune, while “All the Pretty Things” shows lead vocalist Mike Donehey channeling the vocal talents of Jars of Clay’s Dan Haseltine.  For the most part, the rest of the album is pretty straight forward rock/ballad territory - and it really is Tenth Avenue North’s most compelling material. Lyrically, a lot of this record deals with the struggle between faith and the world - as the title suggests. This is readily seen in cuts like “On and On,” “Healing Begins,” “House of Mirrors,” and “Hearts Safe.” There are a few moments of great writing shown - such as “Empty My Hands” and stylized storytelling on “Oh My Dear.”  Overall, The Light Meets the Dark surpasses Over & Underneath as the band seems to have found a little more of who they are over the last two years. It’s not anything that many will tout as being ground breaking - but this record has a lot to say and says it well. For that, it shouldn’t be missed.

Track listing:

1. Healing Begins
2. Strong Enough to Save
3. You Are More
4. The Truth Is Who You Are
5. All the Pretty Things
6. Any Other Way
7. On and On
8. Hearts Safe (A Better Way)
9. House of Mirrors
10. Empty My Hands
11. Oh My Dear